


Leave Your Hat On

by Stasia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Multi, burlesque is hard, non-magic au, part of the final Snupin Santa exchanage, snupin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 22:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3185420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stasia/pseuds/Stasia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Many years after the disastrous end to their relationship, Remus finds Severus again in the most unexpected situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leave Your Hat On

You Can Leave Your Hat On

 

Music echoed out into the street as Remus pulled open the heavy back door to The Wolf's Den and slid in, trying to keep the wet out. _Or,_ he thought, _as much rain as I can._ He pulled the door closed behind him and stood still for a second, enjoying the warmth in the hallway. 

"Hey," called a voice, "is that you, Boss? We could really use a hand, if you've got a minute." 

"Just let me put away my things, Angie," he called back, shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it on one of the cast iron coat racks crowded into the alcove they all referred to as the Coat Check. He picked up his satchel and walked down the hall, pulling off his knit hat and trying to get his hair to lie back down. "What do you need?" he asked as he turned into the big practice room.

Angie, a tall slender woman with dark skin and even darker brown eyes, was standing near the center of the room, her back to the door, her right heel resting on the back of a wooden slat chair. Her hips were twisted so they thrust forward nearly into the face of a red-headed young man who knelt in front of her.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Where's George?" 

Angie caught his eyes in the full-wall mirror and shook her head. "Trouble at home, something with Gwennie." 

At her foot, the red-head leaned around and said, "It's nothing, really, but Mom's worried. There's some asshole at school making trouble for Gwen, and George went along to the meeting." When Remus and Angie just looked at him, he sat back. "What?"

"What meeting?" Angie's voice was very amused. 

He looked up at her, his expression baffled. "The school meeting, with the principle and the counselor and the other parents? Didn't I say?"

"No, Fred," said Remus, who'd moved around and was standing next to the chair Angie was propped on. "We're not your brother, you know. You have to actually say things out loud for the rest of us to hear them."

Fred just rolled his eyes at them. "Whatever, dude. Are you going to help us or what?"

"Of course," Remus said, "but you haven't said what you need yet." Angie and Fred both laughed; Angie dropped her propped up leg and they moved together to the side wall. Once there, she pulled on a skirt and shirt, and he stepped into pants and tugged on a button down shirt. 

"Okay," Angie said, "so we're working on a routine to that song, the one by the guy with that crazy wide register..."

"Vitas," said Remus. "Yes?"

"And anyway, here we go." She bent and fiddled with the iPod in the corner and the sounds of violins filled the room. She and Fred wound around each other, dancing close together, then further apart, slowly removing more and more of their clothes until she was back in the center of the room and back in the position she'd been in when Remus had come in.

"So," she said, looking over at him, "you can see where George would be, but there's something right here – I think we're missing something." On the floor, Fred nodded. 

Remus thought about it, walking around them. "Let me see it one more time, from the top, and then let's see if I can stand in for George and we'll try again." Fred popped up and stretched; over his bent back, Angie grinned at Remus, who just shook his head. He didn't know how she kept up with the pair of them, but the trio seemed very happy. He smiled back and waved his hands at them. "Hurry up – I've got more to do today that watch the two of you flirt."

They sniggered, but moved back to their starting position; Fred stood behind her, supporting her, while she leaned well back against him, one leg up and crooked around an empty space that Remus assumed would normally be filled with George.

An hour later, they'd worked out what to do for the end of the dance and Remus gathered his things up from where he'd left them by the door. 

"Hey boss," Fred said, from behind Angie. Remus half turned, looking at him in the mirrors. "Why don't you ever dance anymore? I mean," he gestured at the room, "it's not like you don't know how or if your leg doesn't - " Angie elbowed him so hard he stumbled. "What?" He looked at her, looking betrayed.

Remus wiped his face with the cloth he'd picked up from the pile Angie had brought into the practice room. "I'm too old," he said, keeping his voice as neutral as he could. Then he let his face fall into a grin. "Why would anyone want to see my old carcass when they could watch you?"

Fred's brows drew together, but Angie slipped a hand behind him; from the way her shoulder flexed, Remus thought she must be pinching Fred hard enough to hurt. "We'll see you at the Chat, right?" she asked, her voice very bright. 

Remus nodded and left, tossing the cloth into the laundry basket in the hall. He stopped into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, then went down the hall and sat at his desk. "Well," he said to his cluttered office, "it's always good to get a workout, right?" He stretched his arms over his head, lacing his fingers and bending back as far as he could go. "Now to get the boring stuff done."

He hated doing the paperwork, but having seen several of the other local businesses go under because their owners had been unable to keep up with the financial side of things, he'd buckled down and taken several business classes at the local adult school. 

That had been five years ago and was where he'd met his best friend Molly. She'd defended him from a woman who'd been furious with him when she discovered the reason he wasn't returning her interest was that he was gay. That would have been enough for Remus to befriend Molly, but she arranged for him to get a large investment in his new business and then she showed him how to invest that money. He knew he'd never be able to repay her.

Shaking his head free of memories, he flicked his computer on and bent over the papers.

* * *

Remus picked up his brimming cup of coffee and the plate of walnut banana bread he'd ordered, and looked around the full cafe for his front of house manager. He caught a glimpse of Reggie's dark green hair near the windows and moved carefully through the tables to meet him. 

"There are two new acts," Reggie said as Remus sat down at the table, "and I hired another janitor." He glanced up from the screen of his tablet and nodded at the cup Remus set on the table. "And you should drink less coffee. You should drink kombucha – it's much better for you."

Remus shook his head, smiling into his cup. "Thanks, Reg, but I'll stick to good old caffeine. What are the acts?" Hiring Reggie had been a long shot – he'd been fired from his last two management jobs for arguing with customers, but he'd fit in very well with the eclectic and often downright bizarre staff and clientele of the Wolf's Den. 

Reg grinned and turned his tablet around. The screen was filled with a frozen image of a woman with wild dark hair wearing little more than a large mottled brown snake and a wide smile. Reg touched the Play button and the image jittered, then she started to writhe, the movement starting with her hips and somehow, impossibly, radiating outward until it seemed that her entire body was undulating, the snake riding around the movement, sliding over her body, dipping its head between her breasts, letting its body run between her legs, allowing its tail to trail along the curve of her ass, its flickering tongue tracing shapes in the air. The dance came to an end with the woman bent over backwards facing the audience, the snake's body wrapped around one thigh, her narrow waist, and around her upper arm; she held the snake's face close to her own.

"Well," Remus said, after a silent moment, blinking away the image. "Yes, that's, erm. That was very impressive." 

Reggie laughed. "Yeah, I liked the act. She's a smidge odd, though. I'm not sure she'll stay." He shrugged and flicked something on his screen. "Anyway, here's the other act. It's a little more traditional." He pressed play on the loaded color video.

This time the image was of a slender man, dark hair brushing his shoulders, eyes snapping black fire at the camera, sallow skin glowing nearly gold under the stage lights. He wore a black tuxedo over a crisp white shirt and red cummerbund and bow tie. He started the dance with one gloved hand up, covering half of his face; the fingers of that hand rested on the brim of a short top hat.

As the man danced, his increasing nudity was set off by the few bits of clothing that remained: the bow tie, the top hat, his shoes and gartered socks, and a startlingly deep red thong which left little to the imagination. Just as Remus was wondering if he was going to go all the way, he did; with one hand he held the brim of the top hat and pulled it off his head and pressed it to his crotch, and with the other he yanked the thong off from behind, letting it dangle from one crooked finger. He looked directly into the camera, one eyebrow raised, the corner of his mouth tipped up in a smirk, then the music gave one last heavy beat and the top hat popped out to the traditional full height. The video stopped and Remus' eyes drifted up from the image of the black top hat cupped over the dancer's crotch to meet Reggie's delighted ones.

"So," Remus chuckled, "a little more traditional?" _It can't be him,_ he thought. _There's no way that Severus Snape, of all people, would be doing any sort of burlesque._

Reggie nodded, smiling. "He said he's not looking for something long-term, something about working his way around the country, but I thought he'd make a good addition to the line up for now." He looked back at his tablet. "The janitor's another odd one, but," he looked out the window at the people streaming by on the sidewalk, eyes catching on a tall person with pure white waist-length hair wearing a red and black striped jacket over bright yellow pants. "Well," he said, shrugging. "Who isn't?"

Remus tipped his coffee mug in agreement and drank. "So, what are their names?"

Reggie glanced over at him. "Names? Oh, the acts. Right." He tapped his screen a couple of times. "Ah. The woman's name is Donna Serpente - " he laughed at Remus' disbelieving snort, "Yeah, that's what I thought. And the guy's name is," he paused while the information loaded, "Sharpe. Venor Sharpe."

Remus took another sip from his coffee. _Could it be him? The name's wrong, of course, but ..._ "And, erm, the janitor?"

Reggie nodded, drinking from his own glass, which Remus just now noticed was filled with a slightly gelatinous mixture of something greenish with strange dark … bits floating in it. He grimaced at it while Reg looked up the information. "He's Rod Strange."

Remus choked. "What? I mean, um." He tipped the tablet closer. "Oookay. That's another odd one. I guess we're just getting the strange ones all at once." He shoved his now empty coffee cup away to the edge of the table and pressed his finger into the crumbs of the banana bread. "When are they starting?"

"Oh, she's starting this weekend, and the guy, Sharpe, said he could start right away, if there's room in the line-up." 

Remus nodded. "Okay, well, that's your gig, so I'll leave that up to you. Is there anything else?" 

"Did you see the news about that robbery?"

Remus licked the crumbs off his finger. "The one over in Nevada? Yeah, why?"

"There was something in the news today – they still haven't caught the couple who did it. They posted another security camera video, but I don't know why they bother. Those stupid cameras have crap resolution. How's anyone supposed to identify someone in one of those videos?" Reggie turned the tablet to show Remus a blurry black and white image of two people – he supposed they were in a bank lobby – waving guns and carrying bags. 

Remus shook his head and stood. "I'll let you get to it, then. I'll see you tomorrow." Reggie nodded and Remus left, feeling the memories of dark hair and even darker eyes rising in the back of his mind.

* * *

"I'm the last one out," Reggie said, sticking his head through Remus' office door. "The schedule's set for the next two weeks, and the Chat's set for tomorrow. Anything you need brought up?"

Remus sat back from his notes and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, actually. There've been a couple of things moved or missing in the green room and in a couple of the smaller practice rooms. Can you remind people to put things back where they got them? Using props is fine, but not if no one can find them after." He paused, thinking. "And to double check that the door's locked behind them. We don't want a repeat of two years ago."

Reggie groaned. "No, we most certainly do not. Okay, I'll remind the troops. See you tomorrow, then." He waved and left. Remus heard the heavy outside door thunk shut behind him. 

"Okay," he said. "Time for the second shift." He shoved back from the desk, gathering up a notebook and some loose pages. He patted his pockets, then grinned and pulled out an iPod. "Let's go!"

In the small practice room, he set up the music, stripped out of his jeans and sweater, and stretched. Then, checking his notes one last time, he hit play on the iPod and let his notes fill the space with movement.

* * *

Hours later, from the dusty back of one of the old storage rooms, Remus heard the growing noise down the hall and checked the clock. _Time already? Huh._ He shoved the papers he'd been working on back into their folder and shut his laptop. _I hope whoever ordered the pizza this time remembered that I don't like mushrooms._

He stopped in the small bathroom off the kitchen to wash off the dust from old costumes he'd been rummaging through and stepped through into the kitchen. Fred and George were sitting on the counter, bracketing Angie and he shook his head. He heard Jennifer laughing; she was looking at Audrey, who was stealing salad out of the bowl before Jenny had a chance to put the bowl down. Smiling, he looked towards the door and froze. 

_It is Severus._

He felt cold, felt the echoes of other kitchens, other laughter. He took a short breath, hoping to be able to slide back out the door he'd come in – they could have the weekly meeting without him – when Severus' dark eyes caught his and moved on without any signs of recognition. The shock of not being recognised was almost stronger than that of seeing his past brought to life in front of him and he sagged against the counter.

"Hey, dude," Fred said, leaning over and looking into his face. "You okay?" George's face hovered above Fred's shoulder, giving Remus an odd feeling of sober double vision. 

Remus pulled in a deep breath and stood up, patting Fred's arm. "Yeah, thanks. Just, um," he glanced down at his leg. 

Angie looked suspicious, but she nodded. "Hey, someone pull up a chair for the boss!" Before he had a chance to protest, he was seated at the table, with a plate of mushroom-free pizza and salad in front of him. He started to say something, then there was the sound of a short tussle behind him and a bottle of cider dropped to the table next to his right hand.

"Okay," Reggie said loudly, and the room quieted. Jenny and Audrey sat on Remus' right, grinning at him and sharing a plate, while he heard Luna singing softly behind him. 

"Okay," Reggie repeated, "let's get this show on the road. I've got a couple of schedule things, then we can figure out what the next month will look like." He tapped his ever-present tablet and started talking. 

Remus let the discussion wash over him. When he hired Reggie, he'd deliberately stopped being involved with the scheduling side of the business; it had been hard at first, but now he enjoyed it. Sometimes, if he was very busy with other things, he missed the first few performances of new acts and it was almost as if he was getting to see the show from the perspective of an audience member rather than someone backstage. 

He used the time to watch Severus. He sat at the end of the table furthest from Remus and ate his share of the food in silence. He didn't seem unhappy or disdainful, but he didn't quite seem to fit in. Remus wasn't surprised – what he was surprised about was that he was here at all. Severus had been so sure of getting into the FBI.

He was talking quietly now with Luna, who'd sat next to him. Remus watched them; Luna gestured at the pizza, then opened her bag and pulled out her pencil and drawing paper to show him something. Severus' eyes slid up and caught Remus' and Remus looked firmly down at his plate where he saw he'd been idly trying to use knife and fork to slice his lettuce into smaller pieces. 

He stood, bringing his plate to the sink, feeling eyes on his back, knowing his tension was making his limp worse. When he turned back, Severus was looking intently at him, brows together, and Luna was glancing back and forth between them. Her face was her usual mixture of curiosity and otherworldly interest, so Remus just leaned against the counter and waited for Reggie to finish.

Fred popped up next to him, dropping three sets of dishes into the sink. "It's my turn for dishes," he said. He pulled himself back onto the counter and sat next to Remus. "So, what'dya think of the new guy? George invited him along to the Chat. Angie said it's early for it, but George insisted."

Remus tried not to look at Severus again; his head was bent over Luna's pad and he ran a finger over something she'd sketched. "I don't know him," Remus said, thinking that it wasn't even exactly a lie. He didn't know this version of Severus, a man who'd willingly dance mostly-naked in front of who knows how many people. The man he'd met in college hadn't been willing to be vulnerable at all. 

"Have you seen his act?" Fred laughed. "He does this thing? With his top hat – it's got to be magic."

Remus smiled. "Yeah, that was in the tape Reggie showed me, when he hired him. I haven't seen it in person." He shifted, letting his leg stretch out a bit. "Where's the other person, the woman, with that snake?"

Fred stiffened slightly and Remus turned to look at him. "What?"

"She's not nice," he said, and slid off the counter to stand behind Angie and wrap his arms around her. She leaned back against him, but looked over to Remus. She blinked slowly and he was reminded of a warm, happy cat, blinking in the sun. He smiled back, letting her contentment relax him.

"Okay, guys, that's it, I think. So Mishael and Jenny are headlining next month, and we've got all the time-off requests in." Reggie darkened his tablet screen. "Oh, right, one last thing. There've been a couple of things missing from some of the practice rooms, so if you use something, don't forget to put it back." He glanced at the twins. "That means you two mostly. And let's make sure we double check that the door's locked behind us at night, okay?" He looked around the room and smiled. "Well, time for some fun!"

Remus sat back at the table as the rest of the group cleared their plates. There was a bit of elbowing between the twins at the sink as they began washing up, then Mishael grinned and pulled a large box from the games cupboard. 

"I found this and thought it was perfect for us," she said, dropping the box on the table. The name on the box showed clearly even in its slightly battered condition: CLUE. Reggie and Jenny groaned, but Luna started laughing. 

"That will be perfect," she said. "I'm sure Venor will be very good at it. He'll have had lots of practice." Remus saw Severus turn to stare at her and smiled to himself. Luna could be startling at first. You never could tell what she'd figure out. He tried not to remember late nights playing Clue with Lily and James and Severus and the rest. Severus had always won anyway.

He felt less comfortable about things when he and Severus ended up as partners for the game. There hadn't been enough player characters to go around, so Fred, George and Angie were playing Miss Scarlett and he and Severus had been assigned to Mr Green. 

Severus made careful notes, which amused Reggie, but Remus just remembered what Severus had been like when they'd played at the dented wooden table in the kitchen of the little apartment James and Lily had rented when they first moved in together. He found himself caught up in the give and take of the game, laughing at Luna's questions and at Fred's crazy suggestions, but hearing echoes of Sirius' laughter and seeing ghosts of Peter and James standing behind Audrey.

"Mr Green, in the study, with the rope!" cried Mishael, and Remus came back to the present with a start. He looked, wide-eyed, at Severus, who had one hand over his eyes. 

"We're guilty?" Remus asked. 

"It appears possible," Severus said, still covering his face. He leaned forward, putting a hand on Remus' thigh, and picked up the envelope with the final answer. Remus flinched back, nearly tipping his chair over. Severus lifted his hand quickly, moving to catch the back of Remus' chair. Remus didn't look at him.

"Ah," Remus said, standing and moving towards the fridge. "Does anyone else need more to drink?" A chorus of agreement rose from the table, so he pulled out several cans of soda and turned to bring them back. Severus was leaning back in his chair, legs crossed, looking entirely relaxed, and Remus found himself getting annoyed. _What is he doing here? And why is he using that_ stupid _name?_ He glared at Severus and was surprised to see Luna's face fall. Shaking his head at her, he brought the drinks to the table.

"So, Venor," said Mishael, moving to Remus' seat. "Where'd you learn to dance?" She sat facing Severus, her legs crossed at the knee, skirt hiking up. Remus watched as Severus' eyes caught on the expanse of creamy brown thigh being exposed, and grinned into his new bottle of cider. Mishael was smirking a bit; when he glanced up, he saw Angie hiding a smile behind her hand. Jenny hid her own smile by propping her chin on Audrey's shoulder. _He_ knew that Severus batted for the home team, but very few people could resist Mishael when she was feeling flirtatious.

Severus looked up at Remus; for a fleeting second he thought Severus looked apologetic, but his expression shifted too quickly for Remus to be sure.

"I was in college," he said, crossing his own legs so that they nested with Mishael's. "And I fell in love with the most beautiful dancer I'd ever seen."

* * *

Remus was in the next day before anyone else. He dropped his bag in his office, made a cup of coffee and wandered through the rooms, trying to see what might have been misplaced and hoping to find the stage swords he'd been sure had been in the green room. He wanted to start blocking the next fight scene and having the right tools helped. 

Not only were the stage swords missing, but several of the stock costumes were either missing or damaged. Confused, he left his now empty cup in the sink and went to the small room he liked to rehearse in. 

As he moved through the dance steps he used to warm up, he found himself expecting to hear Severus' voice or see him come through the door. He'd developed this routine to use for warm-ups because it could be done as a solo or a duo dance. He hadn't thought of Severus in years; he'd even used this warm up with other dancers without any twinges, but now it was as if Severus was a ghost in the room, filling it with his presence.

Halfway through the routine, Remus stopped moving, held his position, bent forward at the waist; the music flowed past him and over him, bringing images and memories. Why had Severus said that, to Mishael? Why had he lied?

* * *

Severus sat in the kitchen of the small flat he'd taken as part of Venor Sharpe's cover identity and cursed. How could he have found Remus _now_ , in the middle of this case? He'd seen Remus' expression as he told that story – made of three parts truth and just enough falsehood to make it a reasonable cover. It was far from the original cover he'd devised for Sharpe, which involved being an itinerant dancer, trying to get onto Broadway, but he'd found the truth harder to hide when looking at Remus' brown eyes after so long.

_Only,_ he thought, _now what?_ The woman, Donna Serpente, hadn't been at the club at any of the times when he was scheduled. Remus had left before the others stopped questioning Severus, and once they started playing the board game again, Severus asked Reggie when the other new dancer was scheduled. She was scheduled twice a week and Severus thought he might try to see if he could hide in the audience when she was next on. 

For now, he had to try to do some work on his other cases – thank goodness for internet connections – and try to forget the look of betrayal and disgust on Remus' face as he turned away. Pretending that he didn't recognize him when he saw him come into the room had been one of the hardest things Severus had had to do, but watching him walk away thinking that Severus was willing to use him to get what he wanted was much harder, mostly because it turned out that it had been true. 

He'd been delighted to take over when Remus was injured all those years ago and now he'd used their story – or some version of it – for this case. He wished he'd be able to tell Remus that he hadn't known what Peter was going to do all those years ago, he wished he hadn't been so incurious about how Remus had fallen at the time. He knew just how useless wishing was.

_"Fuck!"_ Severus slammed his laptop cover down. There wasn't any way he could get anything done now. Maybe he'd be able to concentrate tomorrow, but now all he could see was the look on Remus' face, always turning away from him. 

He stood up and grabbed his jacket. Maybe going for a walk would help. It wasn't that late; maybe there was a diner or a coffee shop open. He knew there were bars, but he didn't want to bury the memories any more. It was time he faced up to what he'd lost, all those years ago.

A week later, he sat in the back of the theater, watching Donna Serpente writhe around with her snake. After watching for just a few minutes, he was sure she was Bella, but he was unsure of what to do about it, because he didn't know where her husband and accomplice was. His orders were to find both of them and he wasn't sure that she'd tell him where her husband was, no matter what they did to her. He'd seen reports and videos of what the cult she'd grown up in had done to their members, and he was sure that there wasn't anything the FBI could do to her which would be worse than what her supposed family had thought of as common punishments.

She didn't engage with the audience much, he saw. She stayed mostly in the center of the stage, letting the snake wrap itself around her, keeping her eyes well above those staring at her. His gaze swept over the audience itself as he wondered what they thought of the different acts. Many seemed entranced by her, but a few were completely disinterested. One person was watching closely, his expression almost angry. Severus felt something in his gut tighten.

He changed seats at the table, trying to make it look like he wanted a better view of Bella, and looked carefully across the dim room. The man wasn't at a table; he was against the side wall, leaning forward, eyes devouring Bella. His hands were below his waist, but Severus didn't think his arms were moving. He turned as Bella turned, and Severus got a clear view of his shirt: grey button down, with an embroidered wolf on the left breast. _He works here._ Severus watched him for another minute, then shook his head. He'd find out who the man was – one of the twins would know, probably.

Before her act was done, he slipped backstage, nodding to the bartender, a skinny old man with long white hair that mixed freely with his long beard. His blue eyes always sparkled and he looked slightly dotty, but Severus had heard from Angie that he was, in fact, very protective of the dancers and had been known to eject offensive patrons himself, without relying on the hairy giant of a bouncer with the incongruous name of Ruby.

He wandered to the green room, hoping to find someone to talk to about Remus. It was pointless, he knew, but he wanted to know what had happened, how the man had ended up here, running this night club. There wasn't anyone in the green room, so he went along the hallway, looking into the other side rooms until he found Mishael and Luna in one of the practice rooms, helping each other with their routines.

As he stood in the door, Luna spun so that the veils she wore wrapped tightly around her body, then she stopped and pulled two of the sheer cloths from her costume and tossed them to the sides, allowing her breasts to swing up and free. After a moment, Severus realized that the veils she'd removed had been tucked into the top of her corset, so pulling them off had been one of her undressing steps. She looked at him in the mirror and smiled.

"Venor," she said, her voice light. "How nice to see you." She spun gently, the little tassels on her pasties catching the light. Mishael stopped the music and raised her eyebrows at him. 

"You're not on the schedule today, are you?" she asked. "Are you here to rehearse? We've got this room for the next hour, but it's good to have someone watch. You could work on that side of the room, if you want." She dropped the robe she was wearing and started to stretch and bend to loosen up. After twisting at the waist, she bent backwards, reaching her arms over her head until it looked like she might be able to touch the floor behind her. Before she did, she changed direction and bent forward, letting her hands fall flat on the floor and pressing her face into her legs.

Severus looked away from Mishael's body, and he coughed. "I, erm." He tried to glance away, into the mirror, but Luna was watching him directly there, eyebrows quirked. Mishael stood back up from her deep bend and turned to face him directly. She propped her hands on her hips and tipped her head.

"Yes?" she said.

Severus could feel himself flushing, but he looked her directly in the eyes and said calmly, "I think I might need some practice, but I didn't come dressed for it. Really, I'm just curious about a few things and, well...." He fumbled for a moment, then charged on. "What does Remus do here, anyway? He's not one of the acts, and Reggie does all the scheduling, so..."

Mishael looked over at Luna, then went back to her stretching. "Why do you want to know?" 

He leaned against the door frame, trying to look relaxed. He knew he should be asking about Donna – Bella – but this felt like the best chance to find out what had happened to Remus. The last time he'd heard from him – the last time any of them had heard from Remus – he'd been healing well and was expecting to take the position he'd been offered with a touring company. Clearly something had changed. "Because I used to know him," he said, throwing cover the wind. "I knew him, years ago and I don't know..." he trailed off, suddenly unable to meet Luna's eyes.

Luna smiled, luminous under the bright lights. "You should get to know him again. It'll turn out okay."

Next to her, Mishael looked less pleased, but she shrugged. "He's nothing to hide, so sure. He's the owner." She tipped her head at Luna. "Go back to the beginning. I'll do this and when you're done, I'll run through mine." As Luna gathered her dropped scarves and tucked them back into their various spots of her costume, Mishael turned back to Severus. "Let's go over here," she said, "out of her way."

They settled into chairs at the side of the room, watching Luna as she spun and danced, her light blonde hair almost as ethereal as the veils themselves. 

"It's not what I expected," Severus said. At Mishael's cocked eyebrow, he shrugged. "I expected a large room with mirrors, shelves everywhere,, you know. Lots of racks of flirtatious costumes, chairs in various states of repair filled with people – well, women – in interesting states of undress, all laughing and giggling and gossiping about everyone."

"Ah yes," Mishael said gravely, her eyes laughing. " _Some Like It Hot._ "

" _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_ , actually," Severus said, voice just as sober. "It was a formative experience for me."

She laughed. "Yes, I can see it would be." Across the room, Luna dropped three veils and stepped on one. They heard her whisper, "fuck", and chuckled.

"So. Remus." Mishael said. "When did you know him?"

Severus sighed. He'd blown his cover story so badly at this point, there was no point in telling anything but the truth. He'd try to keep his actual reason for being at the club a secret. "In college. He was friends with this girl - "

"And you liked her." Mishael smirked at him.

"No, one of my friends did. They're married now, with a little boy." He watched Luna spin, then fall into a crouch. "They'd be here in less than two hours if I told them I'd found Remus."

"Why haven't you?"

He sat watching Luna float like an exotic bird, something unreal and magical. "It goes both ways," he finally said. "James and Lily haven't hidden themselves – they're on Facebook, posting obnoxious pictures of their kid and their trips to Disneyland. If he wanted to be found, he could have... " he shrugged. "He could have been found."

She nodded. "But you _have_ found him." 

"I don't know … I wasn't looking for him. I'm not here because of him." He shifted, aware that this wasn't getting his questions about Remus answered at all. "How did he end up here?"

She leaned back in her chair, smiling while Luna stopped her music and started over. "She's been looking at old routines, historical ones, like Isadora Duncan. She's trying to modernize them, to see if modern audiences would be interested in the older stuff." She chuckled. "I'm not sure who's winning, her or the scarves."

Severus glanced between Mishael and Luna. "She doesn't usually use the veils? Scarves?"

She smiled. "Oh no. Luna does pole! She's amazing, really athletic. It helps that she's so tiny." She stopped watching the other dancer and turned to face Severus. "Remus owns The Wolf's Den. He bought it, oh, eight years ago and tried a couple of things before he settled on burlesque."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "And is he, erm. What else did he try?"

She shot him a knowing look. "I wasn't here at the beginning. Ruby was, and Forthie, at the bar, but the rest of us came after. I think the Twins are here because he knows their mom, but Angie's the driver in that car, so I don't know for sure. Could be it was her idea." Across the room, Luna spun and dropped the last scarf, waving her arms and bending at the waist, allowing her hair to follow the curve of the fabric towards the floor. 

"That was lovely," Mishael called. "You made it through the whole thing!" She stood up and looked down at him. "Remus isn't someone you can just leave behind. He's worth more than that. He's _valuable_ , and if you and your friends didn't see it then, and don't see it now, then I don't think you should bother trying to 'find closure', or whatever it is you're here for." Severus felt like she was seeing only the smallest meanest parts of him. 

"I'm not here for him," he said. "I didn't know he was here." He held her gaze, keeping his regrets as hidden as he could. "Just," he breathed in slowly. "Just once I saw him, I wanted to know."

Luna had approached while their gazes were locked, her hands full of filmy fabric. "You could always just ask him," she said. At their startled looks, she laughed and nodded to Mishael. "Your turn." 

When Mishael threw up her hands and walked away, Luna collapsed into the chair Mishael had been in. She extended her legs out in front of her and lifted her arms over the back of the chair, stretching her whole body. Severus was struck by how small she was. She seemed larger when she was in motion.

"Oh, get it over with," she said without looking at him. "Yes, I'm smaller than you. I don't know why people keep informing me of the fact that I'm short." When she turned her head, her expression was amused and he relaxed.

"Perhaps they think it's gone over your head," he said, keeping his tone perfectly flat.

She snorted with laughter. "True." She looked at the scarves surrounding her like snowdrifts. "I don't know if I can do this damned scarf thing."

"No," he said. "I liked it. It was good. I mean," he waved his hand vaguely. "I can see where you're having trouble, but the bones of it are good. The bit where you spin and leap with the scarves caught at your shoulders and wrists? That was very nice." He felt a bit awkward but she seemed thoughtful.

"That's the Duncan stuff." Her voice was contemplative. "I can put more of that in. Thanks!" She beamed at him. "In exchange for that good advice, I'll tell you what you want to know about – Remus!"

Remus stopped and stuck his head through the door, smiling at her. To Severus it looked like he stiffened when he looked past Luna to him, but all Remus said was "Hullo, Venor. You're not on the schedule today, surely."

* * *

Remus hadn't seen anyone in the larger practice room, but when he heard Luna's voice, he'd stopped. He always liked talking to Luna and felt like he could benefit from her off-kilter but always deadly accurate view of the world. He hadn't expected to find her talking to the one person he didn't want to see, but he managed to greet Severus calmly. _Those acting classes have to be useful sometime, right?_

Severus stood, looking very uncomfortable. "I'm not, no. I came in to, I mean..." 

"He was helping me figure out the new dance," Luna said, shoving at the scarves with one foot. "He thinks I should put in more of the Isadora Duncan bits." 

Remus looked up at Severus, feeling his brows rise. "He does?"

"Hey," Mishael said, from across the room where she'd been about to start her routine. "Remus, you've been complaining that you need a second dancer for that bit you're working on. Why not use Venor?"

"Oh, I couldn't – " Severus started, his face a mask. Something in this whole bizarre situation sparked Remus' sense of the absurd and he laughed. 

"Actually, Venor, it would be a great help to me, if you're willing to put up with some direction." He saw Severus' slight flinch at that, and kept his smile bland. 

One of Sirius' old complaints had been that Remus was too bossy. Remus had always ignored it until the last big fight he'd had with Severus in which Severus had accused him of being controlling and of not supporting Severus in the things which were important to him. Since Severus knew Remus had passed up two choreography internships to help Severus during his internships with the FBI and the NSA, but Sirius hadn't known, Remus had been sure that Severus wasn't where that particular gripe originated. 

He'd responded by telling Severus that until he could stand up for himself against his friends, he, Remus, wasn't interested in spending any more time with him, Severus. He wasn't interested in dating the group of them, just Severus. 

They hadn't spoken after that, not even when Remus had been in the hospital recovering from the broken leg. He'd hoped someone would visit him, but not even Lily had come, in the end. Three years later, he'd been working with touring Broadway shows and Sirius had been killed in a spectacular motorcycle crash on Highway 1 in California. 

Remus let his smile broaden until Severus sighed. 

"I have learned," Severus said, "to listen to those who have my true best interests at heart." and Remus knew the two women in the room couldn't hear the years' old apology. 

He smiled. "That's good," he replied. "I still need to make coffee and do some paperwork for the club, so if you could maybe be here again in, oh, two hours? That would be perfect." He nodded to Mishael and Luna, raised his eyebrows at Severus, and left.

Once in his office, he shut the door and sagged. _Well. This promises to be interesting._ After a long moment, he sat behind his desk and got to work. _I wonder if he'll even show._

An hour and a half later, he closed the files he'd been using on the computer and turned it off. It didn't take him long to change to his dancing clothes – a pair of comfortable fitted knit pants and a soft tee shirt. He left his socks stuffed into his shoes, double checked for his iPod, pulled the choreography notes from his bag and went down the hall to the practice room.

Severus wasn't there. Remus set up the music, starting with the slow instrumental music he liked for warming up. He began to stretch and move, feeling his way into the music, into his body. 

"You still warm up to Vangelis, I see."

Remus jumped at the unexpected interruption. Severus stood in the door; his outfit similar to Remus'. His teeshirt said 'Agents Do It In Secret', and Remus snorted. 

"Nice shirt," he said, and felt something inside himself, some forgotten part of his soul, uncurl when Severus smiled at him.

"Remus," Severus said, stepping inside the room. "I wanted to talk to you about – "

Remus put up his hand. "Not now, Se – Venor. Whatever it is you're going to say, don't." He found himself unwilling to hear the excuses here, in his own space. There was an uncomfortable silence, then he sighed. "I'll just change the music, shall I? The choreography notes are over there, on the chair. Why don't you look at them while I set up, okay?"

Severus looked suprised. "Oh, you actually do have – uh, right." He ran a hand through his hair. "Right. I'll go see what you want from me."

Remus stilled as he crouched over the music player. _Oh, Severus,_ he thought. _Even after all this time, there's still only one thing I want from you._

He pulled up the music he wanted, then paused the playback. "Do you see what's going on?" he asked Severus. "Bring the notes here and let's go through them before we start." When he had the notes, he flipped through to find the first page. "See, it's for a modern Tristan and Isolde. This is the bit when they're confessing their love before her fiance comes back from Afghanistan." He handed the synopsis of the scene to Severus to read over and continued. "So, they're not yet sure of each other, but they can't stay apart." He felt Severus' dark eyes on him, but he ignored them.

"Which part should I take?"

Remus scratched his jaw. "The actor playing Tristan's the taller, so why don't you start there. We might need to switch a couple of times."

The next hour was taken up with blocking and roughing out the movements and fixing any places where the initial choreography wasn't right. As they worked together, Remus found himself almost forgetting the last ten years of silence. Working with Severus felt seamless, as it always had. 

"Okay," Remus said, during a break in the kitchen, drinking water. "I think it's time to do a full run-through and then we can fix anything that – " He broke off as he saw the clock on the wall. "Oh, oh shit, Venor, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how late it was. I'm sure you've other places to be." He set his water glass down in the sink. "Thank you – this has been very helpful."

Severus looked startled, then glanced up at the clock himself. "Oh," he said, "it's okay. I'm interested now – let's at least go through the whole thing once. Then let's go to bed."

Remus choked on air.

Severus had gone bright red. "I mean, we can go home." He closed his eyes, looking frustrated. "To our own, separate homes."

Remus laughed. "Sounds like you're more tired than you thought." He stretched and led the way back to the practice room.

Once there, he set up the music and stood in the center of the room, standing as if he were looking out of a window, leaning on the sill. Severus stood a couple of yards away, his back to Remus, arms loose at his sides and his head down between his slumped shoulders. After a silent minute, the music started.

At the third note, Severus turned to Remus. He raised one arm, reaching for Remus' shoulder, then let it fall back to his side. Remus turned to face him, now 'sitting' on the sill of the window.

They moved towards each other, not quite touching, leaning in together, moving in spirals first in one direction then the other. Around them, the music curled and shifted, changing from the initial themes of welcome to a swell of darker passion, cellos and bass reeds filling the room. Severus wound an arm around Remus' waist and bent him backwards, drawing his free hand gently down the side of Remus' face, fingers lingering on his cheek and at his jaw.

Remus felt his chest tighten, but he fought the effect the music and dance was having on him. This wasn't really his old dreams come to life – this was the story behind the music. This was not real.

He wrapped his arms around Severus' neck and arched his back, letting Severus' bent leg take his weight. Severus leaned over him, bringing his face close to Remus'. As the music lifted around them, they held the pose, staring into each other's eyes. Severus' eyes still had flecks of gold, invisible unless you were up close. Remus closed his own eyes, body shifting as the music changed again.

He stood and spun away, hands out in rejection. Severus stepped nearer to him; his arms came up in supplication, but when Remus covered his face, Severus' arms fell to his sides again. 

They returned to spiraling around each other, alternately touching and pulling away; then, the music cresting behind them, filling the room with tension and pressure, they met again in the center of the room, twined around each other. Remus had one leg hooked over Severus' hip, leaning forward, his body fully supported by Severus, who had one arm around Remus' back under his arms and the other buried in his hair at the nape of his neck. 

The crash of cymbals bounced off of the corners of the room, then the sound of gentle violins faded to silence as Severus drew Remus' face to his, pressing their lips together. Remus thought he made a sound, something between a gasp and a whimper, but then everything was lost to the feeling of Severus, holding him, Severus _kissing_ him again. 

He melted into Severus' heat, opening his mouth and deepening the kiss. Severus' arms tightened around him, pulling him closer. For an unknowable time, Remus was blind to anything except the way he felt, the way it felt to have them wrapping themselves more and more tightly around each other. 

Finally, Remus pulled back slightly. Severus looked drunk; his pupils were wide and his mouth was soft, flushed with their kisses. 

"Oh Severus," whispered Remus. Severus closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Remus'. Remus let his own eyes close as well, feeling the essential rightness of having Severus back in his arms wash through him. "You've no idea how much I've missed you," he said softly. 

There was an sound from the hall and they broke apart. Remus glanced at the door and thought he saw something move in the dark, but couldn't quite make himself pull away from Severus to go look. There wasn't anyone else in the place so whatever he thought he'd heard didn't matter.

He turned back to Severus with a smile, but Severus wasn't smiling back. He was looking at the doorway, his face hard and empty. 

"Severus?" whispered Remus.

Severus stepped back, crossing his arms. "Venor. Stop calling me something that isn't my name."

Remus sucked in a breath, feeling very cold. He looked into Severus' face, glancing back and forth between Severus' dark eyes, but the recognition and emotion he'd seen there before, during the dance, was gone; all he could see now was tense blankness.

He closed his own eyes, stepped back and said, "Okay. Whatever you say. Venor." 

"I've spent too long here," Severus said. He walked to the door and picked up a small satchel Remus hadn't noticed him dropping there before. He pulled it over his shoulder and said, without looking back, "I hope that my contribution was helpful." 

Remus watched him leave the room. When the sound of Severus' footsteps were gone, he bent forward at the waist, bracing his hands on his knees, closed his eyes and just concentrated on breathing in and out. The dark behind his eyelids wasn't as comforting as he'd hoped.

"Well," came an unexpected female voice, "that didn't seem to go as you expected."

The last thing Remus saw was a vaguely familiar dark haired woman standing in the door, her face cracked in a malicious smile. Then he felt a cloth pressed to his nose and mouth and the whole room went dark.

* * *

Severus sat in the emptiness of the shithole he'd rented for this undercover operation with his face buried in his hands. He shouldn't have taken the assignment. He should have asked Nott to take it, or Diggory. 

Hell, Diggory was young and reckless, he'd have been perfect for this. Severus chuckled grimly at the image of Diggory trying to get Luna to make any sense at all.

Severus slid his hands up and into his hair, brushing it back, ending with his hands clasped behind his neck. The only light in the room was the dim yellow of the sodium street lights outside; it made the room look like the flickery antechamber of some cut-rate hell.

Why did he have to find Remus _now_ , now when he couldn't do anything about it, couldn't find out if Remus wanted the same things he used to want.

Across the room, the face of the burner cellphone he was using while he was undercover bloomed white light and chattered as it responded to something. It had gone off three times in the past half hour, but Severus hadn't been able to pry himself up off the couch and out of his misery to find out what this week's cold-caller wanted.

With a groan, he stood up and reached for the phone. He'd missed four texts now, all from Remus' number.

"This is the last time," the text read. "Come to the theater if you want to see your old lover again. Well, see him alive, at least. Come alone, and unarmed."

" _Shit!_ "

Twenty minutes later, Severus stood in the darkened theater, staring up at the stage. Remus was tied to one of the kitchen chairs, a torn bit of lacy costume wrapped tightly around his mouth as a gag. Only one stage light was on, so he sat in a beam of nearly solid white light. He was blinking rapidly and Severus hoped Bella hadn't drugged him. 

Something moved in the darkness behind Remus and Severus stepped forward.

* * *

Remus lifted his head. _Why does my head hurt? And why are those lights so bright?_ He blinked, trying to see past the harsh white of the stage lights, but his eyes wouldn't focus. His mind felt soft and murky, as if he were thinking through a swamp.

There were voices arguing somewhere nearby, but he couldn't make out who they were or what they were saying. He tried shaking his head, but a wave of nausea and pain rise from the back of his neck. It wasn't until he wanted to stand up that he realized he was tied to a chair. He couldn't feel his arms but couldn't seem to make himself worry.

The voices were moving; Remus squinted past the glare of the lights and saw Severus standing on the customer floor at the center of the stage. His arms were held out at his sides, palms facing front. His jacket was half off his shoulders and his hair looked as if he'd been showering and hadn't rinsed out the conditioner. There seemed to be three of him – one solid version and two ghostly doppelgangers; the first hovered directly behind him and mirrored every action, but the second stared directly at Remus.

“... don't have to do this,” the solid Severus was saying. He leaned forward, but the person standing on stage kicked out at him and he pulled back. “Remus has nothing to do with any of this, so just let him go. You want me anyway, not him.”

“Oh, I want both of you, Severus.” The person Severus was talking to crouched down and Remus could finally see who it was. It was the other new act, the snake-dancer. Remus tried to think of her name, but he couldn't get past the swamp in his head. She was wearing one of the club's older costumes, one they kept but never used because it was rare and beautiful. It didn't fit her; Remus could see several places where she'd just tied it together with odd bits torn from other costumes. 

The second shadow-Severus put his finger to his lips as if telling Remus to be quiet. He turned back to look at Bella, but sent one last smile in Remus' direction.

She stood and wound her arms around Remus' chest, leaning her chin into his shoulder. “You looked so beautiful together, dark and light, swirling and mixing...” Her hands clenched on Remus and he flinched. 

_Her nails are like claws._

“When I'm done with you, you'll stay together like that.” Her voice was dreamy and not at all reassuring. 

“Bella,” Severus said, “you won't be able to get away with this. The club will be filled with people in just a few hours, and I'll have missed a report by 10 this morning. People will find you.” He stood calmly, arms relaxed at his sides. The second doppelganger snarled at her, reaching his arms straight through Severus' shoulders towards Bella. 

“Who said we'd be doing it here?” Her voice wasn't soft any more, it was harsh and abrupt.

Remus shook his head, wincing at the pain. “Wadryu...” he tried. He shoved at the gag with his tongue, but it wouldn't move. “Waaa yu doong?”

All of the Severuses eyes shot to his, and for a moment, Remus thought he saw joy reflected in them. Then Severus shook his head and glared up over Remus' shoulder. “Listen to me, Bella,” he said, but Remus had stopped paying attention. 

Something was moving in the dim space behind Severus. It looked like the shadows were shifting, like the darkness of the city was rising up in a cloud just beyond where he could see. There were almost words in the dark, something whispering from the area near the bar, and at that thought he had a sudden clear burst of worry.

_Oh shit, where's old Aberforth? He usually stays late and reads in the front office._

Bella's voice was rising; the shrill tones made Remus' head throb, but he clenched his teeth around the dirty cloth in his mouth and fought through the fog in his mind. Surely he'd seen...

“Se-rus!” Remus chewed on the cloth to make it smaller and less in the way. “Sev-rus! Be-ind you!”

A large heavy figure loomed out of the shadows behind Severus. Just as Remus saw the wooden bat in his hand, swinging down towards Severus' head, Severus dodged away from the weapon. He reached behind himself as he moved and grabbed the man by the back of his neck, pulling forward and spinning the man around. 

“There you are,” Severus said, his voice suddenly bright. “Got you.” He shot a knee into the man's back and then pulled his hands behind his back, holding them tightly. The man started struggling, but Severus just yanked his hands higher. “Okay, Diggory, now!” Severus called.

Bella screeched as Severus fought with his assailant. Before Remus had time to turn and look, she rushed forward over the edge of the stage, landing badly on the floor. She struggled to her knees, but then there was a rush of people coming in from all directions and Remus couldn't keep track of anyone any more. 

He thought he saw Severus handing off the man who'd attacked him to someone in a uniform, but there were so many people in the way that he couldn't be sure. Someone was shouting something about clearing the premises, and someone else seemed to be tossing remnants of costumes in the air. Remus closed his eyes.

“Hey there,” someone said, close to his ear. “Let's get you out of this, shall we?” Remus opened his eyes and saw the kind wrinkled face of old Aberforth. “The Keystone Kops over there seem to have forgotten you, and you look like a man who could use a little drink.” As he spoke his hands were deftly untying the gag and whatever was tying Remus to the chair. Remus sagged as his arms were released, feeling the beginnings of tingly pain as the blood started to move down to his hands again. 

“Forthie,” he whispered, “what's going on?”

The old man wrapped an arm under his and helped him stand. “As far as I can tell, your young man came here to save you. Along with his friends in the police force.” Aberforth's blue eyes twinkled up at Remus. “You'll have to have get that arm seen to, though.”

“He's not my young man,” Remus sighed as Aberforth led him to one of the soft upholstered chairs in the VIP seating area. An EMT met them there, smoothly lifting Remus away from Aberforth and checking him over. Remus sat tiredly as the medical technician looked into his eyes, checked his chest and back, then ran his fingers over Remus' scalp.

“Your arm's definitely broken,” he said, “and there's something wrong with ...” He broke off and pressed Remus back into the chair. “Don't go anywhere, don't move that arm. I'll be right back.” 

The chaos in the rest of the room was unwinding, and Remus could see Severus directing the police towards the doors. Severus caught Remus' glance, then his chin went up. He nodded once and followed after the men leading Bella and the strange man outside. 

* * *

Remus woke up slowly; his whole body ached and his mouth tasted as if he'd been licking a three day old dirty roasting pan. He could hear whirring sounds and beeping and odd bursts of laughter from somewhere far away. 

“Are you waking up?” 

Remus peeled his eyes open and looked into brilliant green eyes he'd last seen in a dim auditorium years before.

“Lily?” He coughed and she clicked her tongue, bringing him a cup of water with a straw. 

“Drink this,” she said. Her smile looked sad. “It's been so long, Remus, I'm sorry.” As he sipped the water, she used the bed controls to help him sit up. 

He stared. “What're you – how did you get here?”

She chuckled. “I drove. I only live a couple of hours away, and for you, for this? I'd be here in an hour.” She cupped his cheek, her expression wistful. “Why didn't you tell us where you were?”

“Tell you... ? Why would you –“

“Ah, Mr Lupin, you're back with us, I see.” A nurse came bustling into the room, easily stepping between Lily and the bed. She leaned over him and patted his shoulder. “Let me run a few tests and maybe you can have lunch, won't that be nice?”

Remus' reply was forestalled by the next person who came in. 

“There you are,” James cried. He carried a young girl on his hip and steered a slightly older boy into the room by the back of his head. 

“Mommy!” the boy cried and leapt at Lily. She caught him and tugged him to sit on her lap. “We went to the caffy-teerya and Daddy got me and Rosie ice cream.”

“Aw buddy, you weren't supposed to tell Mommy that. It was our secret.”

“Your vitals seem good,” the nurse said, seemingly oblivious to everyone else in the room. “I'll put you down for an all liquid lunch and we'll see how you do. Oh, if you find that your arm pains you, just push the button there and someone'll come check on you.” She pointed at a red button on a controller tucked into the side of his bed. After a last glance around, she turned to Lily. “Now I don't want you exciting him. He's been through a lot and he has to rest.” 

After she left, James, who'd handed off the little girl (Rosie, Remus supposed) to Lily, leaned over and hugged Remus. “I'd be mad at you – I have been mad at you – for disappearing like that, but at least we've finally found you.”

“I didn't disappear,” Remus said. He tried to rub his forehead, but his right arm wouldn't move. He looked down – his arm was in a cast from just below his shoulder to halfway down his forearm. The cast was strapped to his chest. Once he saw it, he realized that a large part of his discomfort came from the strap. “Uh, when did this happen?”

James said. “They didn't say anything about memory loss – should I call the nurse back?”

Lily shot him a look, then leaned forward. “Remus, at, well, at your business, there was –“

“Severus,” Remus breathed, staring at her in shock. “Who _was_ that woman? And what the hell was she doing at my club?”

“She and her husband were running from the FBI and your club seemed like a safe place to hide.” They all turned to see Severus leaning on the door frame. “They have robbed banks in three states and are wanted on several counts of murder as well.”

“Now that you're here,” Lily stood up, “we'll get lunch and come back later.” As she passed Severus, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, then whispered something in his ear. He blushed and shook his head. 

“I don't think so,” he said, but she smiled. 

James turned back to Remus. “Hey, want us to smuggle in some solid food? A liquid diet can't be healthy.”

Remus shook his head. “Thanks, but I'll stick to what the nurses say. At least for now.”

After they left, Severus sat down in the visitor's chair. “Before I tell you what happened, I want to apologize.”

Remus sighed. “Don't bother pretending for me, or for James and Lily, if that's what this is about. It's perfectly all right. I just want to know that everyone at the club's okay.”

Severus rested his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands. “They're all fine. You're the only one who was injured at all. Remus –“ His fingers slid into his hair and knotted into fists. “When I think of how close she came to killing you, it … I can't … “

“To … to _killing_ me? Severus, she just broke my arm.” 

“She drugged you, Remus. She was a member of a weird nature cult which believes that they communicate with god by killing people – that death creates a hole between this world and the next, and that if they can kill people slowly, they can somehow make the hole big enough to travel through themselves.” Severus sat up, his hands now covering his eyes. “She'd given you nearly enough of the poison to kill you.”

Remus sagged back on the bed. “What was it she gave me?” He remembered the strange shadow versions of Severus he'd seen.

Severus waved a hand. “It's a mixture of a bunch of things – someone in the cult had been a chemist before they got brainwashed.” He slid further down in the chair. Remus could see purplish shadows under his eyes and at least two days worth of unshaven beard. 

“Severus? How long have I been here?” 

To his surprise, Severus winced. “You were comatose for three days. They said yesterday that you were waking up.”

Remus stared. “Three days? Are you serious?”

Severus laughed, sounding anything but amused. “Not that old joke – you know he's been dead for years.”

Remus tried to swing his legs out of bed but got tangled up in the sheets. “No, Severus, I'm _late_ , the routine was due.” He yanked at the blankets, yelping as the movement pulled the IV cord in his arm. “Dammit!”

“Remus, stop. Reggie called and told them what happened. Don't worry. They'll wait.” Severus rubbed his eyes. “It's fine, everything's fine, now that you're...” He paused, lips parted, then sighed deeply, letting his head fall back. 

The room was silent, the only sound in the whole world the breathing of the two men. After a few minutes, Remus realized that Severus had fallen asleep. 

* * *

Two weeks later, Remus walked in the back door of the Wolf's Den and smiled to himself at the sounds of his friends laughing in the kitchen. This was the first day he'd been allowed back to work by the doctors and he was determined to enjoy it.

“Remus, you're back!” Audrey rushed to hug him, with Mishael and Luna close behind. They all pulled him gently to a seat at the table, talking over each other in excitement. After a chaotic moment when it seemed as if everyone were trying to hug him all at once, they pulled back, beaming at him.

“We were so worried, but Severus explained everything,” Jenny said, hitching herself up on the table.

From across the room, Angie called, “You didn't say that you had such a cute boyfriend.”

Remus sighed into the sudden quiet. “He's not my boyfriend. He's an ex, yes, but we're not currently dating.” After a few seconds, he continued, “Please tell me you _haven't_ been assuming that he is my boyfriend?” At his friends sudden unwillingness to look him in the eyes, he started laughing. 

“I didn't,” said Mishael, “and I don't think you should start. He's an ex for a reason, right?” She crossed her arms. From the way she was glaring at Luna, Remus thought she might have had this argument a few times already.

“Let's make a deal,” Remus said. “I'll tell you everything about my history with Severus if you tell me everything that's happened here since I –“ he broke off. “Well, since the last time I was here.” He leaned back in his chair. “Oh, and who's ordering the pizza? I've been on hospital food for far too long.”

It took more than an hour for Remus to tell the whole story. “And then Lily and James and their two kids came back. Severus woke up, said good bye and that the FBI would be in touch, and I haven't heard from him since.” He drained his bottle of cider, blinking a bit. “I've spoken to several of the other federal agents who were working on the case, but he's just disappeared.”

Angie leaned back into George's chest, pulling his arms around her shoulders. “He was here several times after everything happened, I know that. I think it was Forthie who called Reg, though. Reg's been great. He really took up the slack.” Behind her, Fred nodded. “The day of the attack – well, the day after, I guess,” she continued, “Severus got Reggie to call everyone in super early.”

Remus heard Audrey mutter something about having to get up before the sun set, and he chuckled.

Luna pulled her legs up to her chin, propping her heels into the front edge of her chair. “He seemed really upset. All he knew about you was that you were comatose and that the doctors didn't know if you'd ever wake up.” She tucked her chin into her knees. “He was crying as he left.”

“You can't know that,” Mishael said.

“I do, I saw him. I'd followed to tell him that things would all be okay, and he was standing in Remus' practice room, holding his iPod and looking at something on it and crying.” She paused. “He didn't see me and he seemed to want privacy, so I left him alone.”

Remus rubbed his eyes, trying to think of why his iPod would make Severus cry. 

“Anyway,” Jenny leaned forward. “So, it turns out this Serpente woman was actually Bella LeStrange, the mad bank robber! I wonder what'll happen to her snake.” Fred and Audrey started discussing snakes and Jenny caught Remus' eyes. 

She moved closer to him and whispered, “Whatever happened, or happens, between you and Severus, he did seem really worried about you. You don't have to get back together with him, Luna's just an incurable romantic. But maybe you should talk to him about what happened back in college.” She rubbed his shoulder and smiled, then turned back to the rest of the group. “I don't know if giving the snake to a zoo is a good idea – it's used to performing! Maybe someone in one of the _Cirque du Soleil_ shows could use it.”

That night, Remus sat in his darkened living room holding his cell phone. It had been given back to him two days before by one of the FBI agents, some sharp-faced man called Nott who'd looked at him oddly. Severus' number was on the screen; Remus didn't know who'd put it into his phone – he'd never gotten it from Severus. Remus' thumb hovered over the message button for a long moment, then he pressed it firmly. _Time to get this over with._

* * *

“For fuck's sake, Severus, go home.” Nott didn't even look away from his computer screen. “You've been a nightmare ever since the end of that LeStrange undercover gig. What happened – did you find your one lost love at the fucking strip joint?” He laughed, sitting up and looking at the other people in the office. “Say, wouldn't that be a fine thing, falling in love with one of those freaks.”

Severus put his hands flat on his desk and stood up, turning slowly to face Nott and the rest of the office. He could feel his temper – his _father's_ temper, that he'd worked so hard to get rid of – rising in the back of his throat. 

“You don't know anything about those people, you little shit,” he said, feeling fury numb his lips. “They're human and kind and have much more compassion than you'll ever understand.” He moved so he was looming over Nott. “And you wouldn't know true love if it walked in and smacked you with a fish. You only get the facsimile you're willing to pay for.” Nott just smiled up at him, looking unexpectedly smug.

His grand exit was slightly ruined by the rising chirp of his phone's text ringtone. He ignored it until he was alone in the elevator, on the way down to his car.

_From: Remus Lupin  
To: Severus Snape_

_We have to talk. When can you meet me?  
_

Severus felt his chest squeeze tight. _What could he want to talk to me about?_

Two hours later, he sat in a dark booth in the back of a pub that Remus had suggested. Remus was at the bar, ordering for both of them. As Severus watched, Remus brushed his hair out of his eyes for the third time. Severus wondered if his hair was still as soft as it had been. The girl behind the bar laughed at something he said, and Severus felt sorrow prick the back of his eyes. 

Remus turned and looked at him with a soft smile on his face. Severus hadn't seen hm smile like that since before they'd started fighting. To his shame, he had to glance away from Remus' face.

“I haven't seen anything in the news about the LeStranges since the arrest,” Remus said as he slid into the booth on the other side of the table. “I was expecting to see your name all over the news.”

Severus looked away, across the pub at the fogged up windows. “That's not the important part,” he said. “It's more important that they're arrested and can't hurt anyone anymore. Remus –“ He broke off as the girl from the bar delivered the drinks and a plate of garlic fries. She smiled at them and patted Remus' shoulder as she walked away. 

Remus pulled out a fry loaded with garlic and bit into it appreciatively. “Have some fries, Severus. I know you like garlic fries, and they do a good job here. Lots of garlic. I think they add something else, but I've never asked.” 

Severus sighed. _This is ridiculous._

The fries were very good. They ate steadily and when the plate was nearly empty, Remus wiped his hands on his napkin, swallowed the last of his cider, and propped his chin on one hand.

“Why didn't you call me?”

Severus looked at the last few bits of garlic on the plate and shoved it away. “Why should I have? I finished the case.”

Remus raised his eyebrows. “Well, you still have my iPod. You could have called me about returning it. Or maybe,” he leaned forward, his expression unreadable, “maybe you could have called to tell me why you never came to the hospital all those years ago. What happened, Severus?”

Severus froze. _Oh._ The room seemed airless and dark, but then he saw Remus' face. Remus didn't seem angry, he seemed... he seemed kind. Severus heaved in a breath.

“Looking back,” he started, “it seems so stupid.” He ran a finger around the rim of his glass. “Things had been rough, I was so tired from the NSA internship and all my classes and the rehearsals, and all Sirius could talk about was how much time I spent with you and what a waste it was...” He pressed his lips together. Everything had been so urgent then, so desperate. “I thought that if I didn't do everything, and do it all perfectly, I wouldn't be able to get what I wanted.”

Remus leaned back and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “And did you?”

“What?” Severus hated that Remus was so calm. 

“Did you get everything you wanted?” 

Severus opened his mouth and stopped. “At first, I thought so. But then Lily and James went off and – she stopped talking to me for three years, did you know?” He shook his head. “I'm a fucking imbecile, of course you don't know.”

“Actually, I do know. She's been very informative the past few weeks. It's wonderful to be back in touch with her – with them.” Remus smiled, clearly thinking of something he and Lily had discussed. “I think I'm willing to have gone through this adventure with the LeStranges just to get her back.”

Severus' shoulders curled in. _But not to get me back._ “They've never stopped wondering what happened to you.”

Remus' smile was sharp edged. “Did you ever tell them?”

“ _I didn't know either!_ ” Severus closed his eyes. “I didn't know. I knew you fell, but then there was the performance and I had to take your part and then Peter said you'd gone to the hospital and I called, but they wouldn't put me through.” He pressed his hand to his mouth. “And then I talked to Sirius and he said you'd gone home and that you'd told him to tell me that it was all over. I had finals, I couldn't follow you. And then the FBI called me and I had to go right away, so I told Sirius to call you and tell you where I was.” He was shaking and he couldn't seem to stop. “And you never called. Never. I waited, and … and then I was in the Academy and I could barely remember my own name. I checked every week and there was never any mail from you...”

A warm hand grasped his and another stroked his cheek. “Severus. _Severus._ Stop. Breathe.” Remus' hand slid from his cheek to the back of his neck, where it gripped gently. “I'm here, it's okay.”

Severus bent forward, shocked to realize he was crying. His hands spasmed around Remus' and he clung to it. “I'm so sorry. I didn't know what Peter'd done, I had no idea. I wouldn't have let him, if I'd known. I just thought you fell, I didn't...”

Remus' hands disappeared and Severus knew it was what he deserved for not checking more, for not trying harder to find him, but then Remus was next to him, drawing him in close against his warm chest. “Severus,” Remus said softly in his ear, “it's all right. In the end, it's okay.”

Severus felt himself melting; Remus had always been warmer than everyone else in their group. He wrapped one arm gingerly around Remus' waist. Something rough was in the way and he poked it. When Remus flinched, Severus pulled back and sat up quickly, realizing it was Remus' sling. 

“You're still injured – she could have...” 

But Remus was laughing. “Severus, really. I'm _fine_. It's not my first broken bone.”

Severus flinched and Remus face softened. “And it won't be my last, knowing me. But if this is what gets me my old family back, then I'm willing – more than willing – to pay the price. A few days sleeping and a new scar. Nothing against what I've gained.”

Severus leaned back against the side wall of the booth. Hugging Remus had felt so good, he could still feel the pressure and warmth on his skin. _Remus was just trying to stop you crying like a fucking baby. Don't read anything into it._

Severus couldn't make himself look at Remus, so he watched the woman at the bar pull glasses of beer and set them on the counter. The last one was slightly overfull, so the head spilled down the side of the glass. She laughed at something the waiting server said and wiped away the spill with her hand.

“The thing is, Severus,” Remus said, “I'd like to have more than just my old family back.”

Severus forced himself to look at Remus, who was looking back at him, lips twisted into half a smile. His eyes were hesitant and Severus wondered what he wanted. “Oh?”

“I've never stopped loving you, you know.” Remus looked away now, down at the table and the remains of their snack. “Even when I tried to move on, to find someone new, you were always the one I wanted. So, I was wondering –“

Severus didn't wait. He reached forward, grasping Remus' shoulders and pulling him closer. “Yes,” he said against Remus' lips, “ _yes_.” He kissed Remus, first short gentle presses of his lips against Remus, then deeper, headier kisses, his arms wrapping around Remus. After a few minutes, someone laughed and Severus yanked his head back, suddenly sure he'd misjudged what Remus had been about to say.

The bartender stood at their table, hands on her hips and a giant smile on her face. “Well,” she said, “if that's the kind of thanks you get for a pint of beer and some garlic fries, I'm not surprised you wanted them. I wonder if he'd kiss me like that if I got Ted in the kitchen to make fresh ones.”

Remus smiled up at her, then tightened his arm around Severus' waist. “Oh, you'll have to get your own – this one's all mine. I waited a long time for him and I'm not giving him up now. Not ever again.”

Severus dropped his head against Remus' shoulder and started laughing. He'd forgotten how possessive Remus could be; now he found he rather liked it. “Take me home,” he whispered. “Let's work on a new dance routine.”

 

_fin _  
__

**Author's Note:**

> Isadora Duncan Dancers: [Youtube](http://youtu.be/Kq2GgIMM060)  
> Luna Love Fan and Scarves: [Youtube](http://youtu.be/0C0u6KRNnpA)


End file.
